Rage Against the Machine’s Brad Wilk Almost Became a Member of Pearl Jam

Wow, Rage Against the Machine came very close to never hooking up with drummer Brad Wilk. Before RATM formed, becoming one of the most powerful bands ever, Wilk almost became a member of Pearl Jam before they released their iconic Ten album.

Wilk shared this story on the Let There Be Talk podcast. While a member of the rock band Greta, the drummer got a surprise call from Eddie Vedder in the spring of 1991, right as Pearl Jam were mixing Ten in England. “We just lost our drummer, I'd love for you to come up and meet everybody. I'm going to send you the tape of the songs,” Vedder told Wilk.

"I'm like shitting my pants, I've never been out of the country, I've got to go get my fucking passport, I'm listening to the songs, I'm super young [23 years old] and thinking, 'This is my break, this is my time,’” Wilk recalls. “I go to Europe and we play together, me and Eddie have this history, and we're bonding over in Europe, but to the others I'm just the new guy."

The drummer continues, ”Long story short, I go there, and I just don't click musically, mostly with Jeff [Ament], who is an incredible bass player, awesome guy … It doesn’t matter how good you are, chemistry is everything. It just wasn't clicking … I just wasn't the guy." Wilk flew back home to the States after spending about a week with Pearl Jam.

Thankfully, Wilk would find his big break just a couple of months later when Rage Against the Machine formed in August 1991 — the same month Ten was released.